Box lidding machine



Jan. 22, 1935. H, lPAxToN 1,988,507

Box LIDDING MACHINE Filed May 13,l 195@ Nj? zo @mm1/Emol? f BY-ATTORNEY.

Patented .18.11.22, 1935 PATENT oFFlcE V 1,988,501 Box LIDDING MACHINEHale Paxton, Redlands, Calif., assigner to Paxton Credit Corporation,Sanger, Calif., a corpora,-

. vtion of California Application May 13', 1930, serial No."452,o6z`

19 Claims.

My invention relates to a box lidding machine.

In the fresh fruit industry it is usual to pack the fruit into the boxesand then to lid the boxes preparatory to shipment. The boxes are usuallylled with fruit above the top edge, and a lid of springy material isused to hold the fruit firmly therein. Because of these facts there hasbeen difficulty in 'holding the lid squarely on the box for nailing,especially in view' of the fact that the lid is constructed slightlylonger than the box to permit it to bulge in the center. I l

It is an object of my invention to provide a lidding machine forapplying to a box overflled with fresh fruit or the like a lid which islonger l5 than the box,the lid being so applied that after it is archedinto shape over the contents of the box with the ends of the lid againstthe ends of the box, the lid will be symmetrically aligned upon the box.In the following description as ,E

illustrated by the accompanying drawing further objects and advantagesof my invention will be made manifest. 1

In the drawing accompanying this specification Fig. 1 is a sidefractional view of a lidding ma- 264 chine showing my improvementthereon. Fig. 2

is a front view vof the lidder as shown in Fig.v 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fractional view of the device from the back. Fig.4 is a fractional sectional view along the section line 4-4 in Fig. 1.

LReferring specifically to the drawing, my invention is here seen as avembodied in a nailing machine 10 having a frame 11, a hydrauliccylinder 12, a nailing table 13, and a lid supporting and nailingmechanism 14.

Frame 11 includes channel iron side standards 15, these having feet 17preferably formed of heavy angle iron, thesefeet being connected by asolid beam 18.

The hydraulic cylinder 12 isrigidly secured in upright position on thebeam 18, and hasa piston rod 20. The cylinder 12 is provided with asuitable valve 22 for admitting fluid under pres` sure into the cylinder12, and releasing this therefrom'to cause the operation of thiscylinder. 4 Nailing table 13 is thoroughly covered in my copending U. S.application Serial No. 468,680, filed July 17, 1930', and accordinglythis will not be described in detail herein. The nailingI table 13,however, includes a solid beam 25 which is supported on the upper end ofa piston-rod 20. The upper end of this piston rod is rounded and litsinto a shallow recess shaped to receive this in the lower face of thesolid beam 25 so as to make it possible for the beam 25 to rock slightlyon 65 the piston rod 20. Fixed to the upper end of the `a boxon theserollers.

.27 into the beam 25 and. feet I31 are bolts 32.

Surrounding the bolts 32 and spaced a slight distance below the flange27 are spacers 33, there being coiled springs 34 disposed about thespacers 33 and compressed between the flange 27 and heads of the bolts32. As the ange 27 is spaced 10 a small distance below the beam 25, itis thus seen that a slight rocking movement of this beam on the piston20 is permitted, the beam, of course. being normally held at rightangles to the piston rod 20 by the springs 34. 15

The solid beam 25 has nailing anvils 36\and 37 mounted on its oppositeends, and an auxiliary table 38 is yieldably supported from these anvilsf by spring devices 39 in the same manner as pointed out in myaforementioned co-pending applica- 20 tion, Serialy No. 468,680. As alsoshown in that application the auxiliary table 38 is provided withrollers 40, and automatic stops 41 for positioning The nailing table isprovided with flanged rollers 48 which engage for- 5 ward flanges of thevertical standards 15 to guide the nailing table 13 in its verticalmovement.

The lid supporting and nailing mechanism 14 is mounted upon heavyvoverhanging arms 50 `which are connected together by c ross bars 51; 30

and have a series of lugs 52 extending inwardly from their lower edges.Fixed upon lower faces 53 of the lugs 52 are lid guiding supports 54,these supports having upwardly converging faces 55 which terminate atthe lower faces 53 of the 35 lugs 52. Pivotally mounted between adjacentpairs ofthe supports 54 are rollers,l 56, the rollers 56 at oppositeends of the machine beingspaced apart approximately the length of thebox to be lidded. As clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the 40 rollers 56extend inwardly beyond the converging faces 55 of the support 54 so asto form notchlike recesses in which opposite ends of a lid may b etrapped as shown in Fig.` 2. Also mounted on 45 the arms 50 aredownwardly extending lingers 58, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, forlimiting rearward movement of a lid when this is positioned as shown inFig. 2.

' Mounted on inner faces of the arms 50 are nail chucks 60, the lowerendsof which are disposed only a slight distance above the horizontalplane of the lugv faces 53. As the lugs 52 serve to protect thechucks'60, these lugs may be considered as assembled with the chucks 60to furnish a which bear against the brackets 69, and thus operate toadjust the curvature of the crown sheet 68.'

Although not shown in the drawing, it is obvious that the lid supportingand nailing mechanism 14 includes means for driving nails downwardlythrough the chucks 60 at the will of the operator.

The operation of my invention is as follows:

It is assumed, of course, that the nailing ma- I chine 10 isA placed ina linev of conveyors in the usual manner so that boxes 75 may be fedthereto "from a feed conveyor disposed on the same level as therollers40 when the nailing table 13 is in its Y normal position. Beforea box 75 is fed into the machine 10, however, the operator takes a lid76 having cleats 77 provided upon its opposite ends, and extending thislid into the machine against the fingers 58 liftsit upward into `theposition in which it is shown in Fig. 2. Owing to the resiliency of thelid 76, it thus becomes arched,^and the ends of the lid snap intoposition in the recesses formed by the juxtaposed surfaces of therollers 56 and the converging support faces 55. 'I'he box 75 is nowrolled into the machine so the lid and box are positioned as shown inFig. 2. The operator then manipulates the valve 22 so as to cause thecylinder 12 to lift the nailing table 13 until the ends of the box 75pass between the rollers 56 and contact the ends of the lid 76. Owing tothe convergence of theguide faces 55 further upward movement of the box75, after contacting the cover 76, causes this cover to be archedor'bowed by cramping the cover 76 longitudinally. This cramping actionon the cover 76 terminates with the ends of the cover compressed betweenthe ends of the box 75 and the lower faces 53 of the lugs 52. It is thusseen that the lugs 52 form guards for the chucks 60, `and so may beconsidered as part of the chuck means. The need for the guards, ofcourse, is to protect the nailing chucks as these operate much moresatisfactorily when not in direct contact with the work.

The cramping or centralizing action of the guide faces 55 on the lid 76takes place concur- -rently with the lifting of the lid by the overllledcontents of the crate which extend upwardly therefrom as shown in Fig.3. The. distance which these contents extend upwardly varies of course,but in commercial practice these contents generally engage the middle ofthe cover before the ends of the box contact the ends of the cover. Itis thus seen that the arching of the cover generally results from theengagement of the overfllled contents therewith and the continuedengagement' of the guide faces 55 with the ends of the cover'as thisarching takes place serves primarily to maintain longitudinal alignmentof the cover with the box during the arching of the cover. It is alsoclear, of course, that if the overlled contents do not extend up farenough to engage the ends of the cover before the ends of the box engagethe ends of the cover that the cramping of the cover by the convergingguide faces 55 would cause the cover to be arched against the crownsheet independently of the engagement of the overlled contents with thecover. The latter situation, however, is not the case in the usualcommercial operation of my machine.

When the compressing of the'lid ends against the lugs 52 stops furtherupward movement of the box 75, the pressure in the cylinder 12 builds upsuiiiciently to compress the spring devices 39 and force the anvils 36and 37 upwardly against the ends of the box 75 as shown in Fig. 3. Astheanvils are made of heavy bar metal, and are supported directly onthesolid beam 25 which in turn is hydraulically supported by thecylinder 12, a perfect nailing table is now provided when the nailingmeans is caused to function to drive nails from the chucks 60 throughthe ends of the lid 76 and into the ends of the box 75.

In case there is any variation in the height of the combined b'ox andlid ends at opposite ends of the box, the pressure on these ends isequalized by the adjustable mounting of the nailing table on the pistonrod 20, as shown in Fig. 3.

The crown sheet 68 is provided to prevent splitting of the lids whenthey are placed under pressure. To do this, however, it is necessary forthe crown sheet to fit the arched lid fairly closely. Different types offarm products are packed t different heights in the boxes 75 therebyrequiring lids of greater or less length as it is necessary for theselids to be arched to fit over the excess amount of products extendingabove the top of the box. By manipulation of the screws 72 the arch ofthe crown sheet may be varied to adapt it to fit various degrees ofcurvature of the lids 76 resulting from these being of differentlengths.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated herein the overhangingarms 50 and cross bars l form an overhead structure overhanging thenailing table 13, which structure carries the nailing means and the lidengaging members the latter including lugs 52 and plates 66. The lugs52, of course, engage the upper faces of the ends of the lid and theplates,66 engage intermediate portions 0f the lid to determine theconformation given the lid when it is pressed upwardly against thesemembers. For suitable identification of these lid engaging members, thelugs 52 might be termed end members and the plates 66 be termedintermediate members. It is also to be noted thatv the plates 66 haveseparate adjustment meansin the form of the set screws 72.

While I have shown my lid holding means, including the support 54 androllers 56 as having a vfixed position relative to the nailing chucks60,

it is to be understood that the lid holding means might be usedseparately if this was desired, and this means might be mounted in fixedposition as in the present embodiment, or it might be mounted forindependent vertical movement in a machine in which the nailingmechanism moves down upon the box rather than the box moving up to thenailing mechanism. In fact, a number of other modifications might bemade in the preferred embodiment illustrated herein without departingfrom the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention: l

1. In combination with a lidding machine having a nailing table adaptedto be raised and lowered, means for raising and lowering said tablealong a fixed path of travel, means for supporting a lid consisting of acrown sheet posi-I tioned directly over the nailing table, and means forholding a lid directly under said crown sheet in a curved form.

2. In combination with a lidding machine having a nailing table adaptedto be given a vertical means. f

3. In a nailing machine for lidding overlled boxes, the combination ofnailing means having lower faces for limiting the approach of lid endsthereto; means for supporting a box beneath said nailing means; meansfor moving one of the aforementioned means vertically toward the otherto closely confine opposite ends of a lid between ends of said box andsaid nailing means; 'a pair`of upwardly converging guides disposedbeneath said nailing means and extending downwardly therefrom; and meansfor supporting a lid with its ends adjacent to said guides a substantialdistance downwardly from the lower faces of said nailing means, said lidbeing adapted to be contacted in said movement by the contents of saidbox so that said lid is arched upwardly and the ends of said lid liftedfrom said supporting means, said guides then serving to centralize saidlid relative to said nailing means thereby ending said movement withsaid lid ends superposed directly upon the ends of said box.

4. In a lid applying device, the combination of: means for supporting abox; means for applying a lid to said box; and means associated withsaid lid applying means for supporting a lid in upwardly archedconformation preparatory to applying said lid to said box.

5. In a nailing machine for-lidding overiilled.

boxes, the combination of: nailing means having -lower faces forlimiting the approach of lid ends thereto; an arched crown sheetdisposed between said nailing means; means for supporting a box beneathsaid nailing means; and means for moving one of the aforementioned meansvertically towards the other to closely confine opposite ends of a lidbetween ends of said box and said nailing means and arch said lid toconform substantially to said crown sheet.

6. The combination as in claim 5 .in which means is provided for varyingthe curvature of said-crown sheet. f

7. In a nailing machine for liddingI over-filled boxes, the combinationof: spaced nailing means having lower faces for limiting the approach oflid ends thereto; means for Supporting a box in vertical alignmentwithsaidnailing means; a crown sheet including two plates hingedlyconnected to said nailing means and mechanism for varying the yelevationof the inner ends of said plates; and means for moving one of theaforementioned 'ineans with its associated parts vertically towards theother means to closely confine for supporting a box with its oppositeends be-` neath said nailing means; and means for elevating said boxsupport to lift a box upwardly to bring the contents of the box intocontact with a lid and cause this lid to conform substantially to thecurvature of said crown sheet, the position of said lidlongitudinally-being adjustedby said lid guides. Y.

9. A combination as in claim 8 in which means is provided for supportinga lid adjacent to and beneath said lid guides preliminary to a liddingoperation. f

10. In a lidding machine, the combination of means for applying a lid toa box with a given crowned conformation; and means for selectivelypredetermining the conformation given said lid.

1l. In a lidding machine, the combination of:

a crown plate; means for supporting a box;

means for bringing said crown plate and said box supporting meanstogether with a lid disposed therebetween for shaping said lid to iitsaid crown plate and applying it to said box; and adjustment means forvarying the curvature of said crown plate. 4

l2. In a `box lidder the combination of a crown plate in a plurality ofparts, adjacent edges of said parts being shiftable relative to eachother to permit adjustment of said crown plate to lids varying inlength; means for supporting a crown packed box beneath said plate; andmeans for moving said supporting means and' crown plate relativelyAvertically to compress a lid between said crown plate and said box.

13. In a box lidder, the combination of an arched crown sheet againstwhich a cover may v be lifted to form said cover for nailing to anoverfllled box; means for lifting such a box to compress a cover betweensaid box and said crown sheet in bowed conformation; means associatedwith said crown sheet for nailing a cover, so positioned, to said box;means disposed in spaced relation below said nailing means forsupporting`a cover in substantial longitudinal alignment with s aid box;and means disposed between said cover supporting means and said nailingmeans for engaging ends of said cover 'as it is being bowedkandmaintaining said cover in longitudinal alignment with said box duringthgbowing of said cover.

14. A combination as in claim 10 in which said rst mentioned means has aplurality of lid engaging members for defining the curvature to be givensaid lid when the latter is applied to said box; and in which said lastmentioned means comprises mechanism for adjusting the relative positionsof said members in said machine to change the lid curvature defined bysaid members.

15. `In va machine forllidding overilled boxes the combination of: aframe; a table for supporting a box to be lidded; a structure supportedon said frame and overlying said table; aplurality l of lid engagingmembers mounted-on said structure, said members dening an upwardlyarched curvature and causing a lid to receive such curvature when saidlid is pressed upwardly against said members; means causing relativevertical movement betweensaid table and said overhead structure to presssaid lid on said box with :said lid upwardly arched `in contact withsaid ,inembers; and means for altering 4the relative posi`- tions ofsaid members on said overhead-structure to selectively predetermine thelid curvature dened by said members.

16. In a machine for lidding overlled boxes, the combination of: aframe; a table for supporting a box to be lidded; a structure supportedon said frame and overlying said table; and memberson said structure forengaging upper faces- 5 disposed between said end members, said membersdening an upwardly arched curvature and causing a lid to receive suchcurvature when said lid is pressed upwardly against said end andintermediate members; means causing relative vero tical movementybetween said table and said overhead structure to press said lid on saidbox with said lid upwardly arched in contact with said members; andmeans for altering the mean height of said intermediate members relativeto that of said end members on said structure to selectivelypredetermine the lid curvature defined by said members.

17; In a machine for lidding overfilled boxes, the combination of aAframe; a table for supporting a box to be lidded; a structure supportedon said fra-.ne and overlying said table; end members on said structurefor engaging upper faces of the ends of a lid overlying said box; aplurality of intermediate members on said structure disposed betweensaid endv members, said members defining an upwardly arched curvatureand causing a lid to receive suchcurvature when said lid is pressedupwardly against said end and intermediate members; lmeans causingrelative vertical movement between s'aid table and said overheadstructure to'press said lid on said box with said lid upwardly arched tocontact with said members; and means lfor altering the mean height andthe angles with the horizontal of said intermediate'miembers 4toselectively predeter-f mine the lid .curvature defined by said members.`

18. In a machine for lidding overlled boxes, the combination of: aframe; a table for supporting a box to' be lidded; a structure supportedon said frame and overlying said table; end members on said structurefor engaging upper faces of the ends of' a lid overlying said box; aplurality of intermediate members on said structure disposed betweensaid end members, said members defining an upwardly arched curvature andcausing a lid to receive such curvature when said lid is pressedupwardly against said end and intermediate members; means causingrelative vertical movement between said table and said overheadstructure to press said lid on said box with said lid upwardly arched incontact with said members; and individual adjustment means for alteringthe mean height of each of said intermediate members relative to that ofsaid end members on. said structure to selectively predetermine the lidcurvature defined by said members.

19. In a machine for lidding overfilled boxes, the combination of: aframe; a table for supporting a box to be lidded; a structure supportedon said frame and overlying said table; end members on said structurefor engaging upper faces of the ends of a lid overlyingsaid box; aplurality of intermediate members onsaid structure disposed between saidend members, said members defining an upwardly arched curvature andcausing a lid to receive such curvature when said lid is pressedupwardly against said end and intermediate members; means causingrelative vertical movement between said table and said overheadstructure to press said lid on said box with said lid upwardly arched,in contact with said members; and individual adjustment means foraltering the mean height and angle with the horizontal of each of saidintermediate members to selectively predetermine the lid. curvaturedened by said members.

HALE PAXTON.

